


Patience

by vega_voices



Series: Patience [2]
Category: In Plain Sight
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-05-07
Updated: 2010-05-07
Packaged: 2017-10-19 18:18:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/203862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vega_voices/pseuds/vega_voices
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>In his most secret fantasies, the ones he allowed himself as he drifted to sleep, it was the kiss they always shared. But instead of following him into the house and into his bed, Mary left him on his doorstep after pressing her fingers into his. He’d watched her get into her brand new Mustang and drive away.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	Patience

_**Fic: In Plain Sight - Patience**_  
 **Title:** Patience  
 **Author:** [](http://vegawriters.livejournal.com/profile)[**vegawriters**](http://vegawriters.livejournal.com/)  
 **Fandom:** In Plain Sight  
 **Pairing:** Mary/Marshall  
 **Rating:** Teen  
 **Timeframe/Spoilers:** Takes place right after the events in _No Clemency for Old Men_ and around the same time as [Chapter 4](http://community.livejournal.com/vega_voices/44767.html) of [The Evidence of Damage](http://community.livejournal.com/vega_voices/tag/fic:%20evidence%20of%20damage), but is a complete stand alone.  
 **A/N:** During the last live-ep conversation, I got talking to [](http://rainbowwizard1.livejournal.com/profile)[**rainbowwizard1**](http://rainbowwizard1.livejournal.com/) about fic rather than work. This is what developed.  
 **Disclaimer:** If I owned them, I’d totally let you guy write fic. Since I don’t own them, I just take em out to play.

 **Summary:** _In his most secret fantasies, the ones he allowed himself as he drifted to sleep, it was the kiss they always shared. But instead of following him into the house and into his bed, Mary left him on his doorstep after pressing her fingers into his. He’d watched her get into her brand new Mustang and drive away._

Marshall Mann knows things about his partner.

He knows that she was deeply in love with Raphael, but she couldn’t accept that two people from such different backgrounds could come together to make a family. He knows that she’s terrified of family and every last connotation the word brings to mind.

Even more than that – she’s terrified of love. Love means giving back; it means risking getting hurt. It means leaping off a cliff in search of an abstract rather than the concrete truths she is used to: work, convicts, witnesses.

He knows that if she doesn’t tease you, it means she’s mad at you. He knows that she often doesn’t know when she’s crossed the line. Nothing she says or does is done out of malice, but instead borne from an adulthood that began at the age of seven when she learned how to order her mother into bed and made sure her little sister got fed and changed. She handled the money and cleaned the house and let her mother know how inappropriate it was to bring strange men home.

He knows that silence is her most deadly weapon of all.

But beyond everything else, he knows why she hides herself from the world.

Mary Shannon has spent her entire life taking care of others, never once understanding that someone could love her in return. She hides because she wants someone to seek her out, to find her, to prove to her that they care.

He knows that she knows how he feels about her and that he is the one who has searched for her and found her, hiding in her little corner with the blanket over her head. She trusts him completely. It’s herself she doesn’t trust. At least, not with her heart.

Since Raphael left her, she’s been different. He’d expected her to close herself off completely. Instead, there have been dinners, long talks over bottles of wine, and last night, he learned one more thing about Mary Shannon.

He learned exactly how her mouth tastes after sushi and a glass of Merlot.

He learned that her first kisses are soft and hesitant, that she presses into her lover’s chest first, seeking permission for their hips to touch. He learned how soft her hair is at the nape of her neck.

But now, waiting for the elevator doors to open, he realizes there is something he doesn’t know about Mary.

He has no idea how she will react to this new turn of events. It was a kiss. More than a simple peck but hardly a tongue-down-the-throat-throw-each-other-into-bed game of tonsil hockey.

In his most secret fantasies, the ones he allowed himself as he drifted to sleep, it was the kiss they always shared. But instead of following him into the house and into his bed, Mary left him on his doorstep after pressing her fingers into his. He’d watched her get into her brand new Mustang and drive away.

The office is silent when he enters. Stan is behind closed doors, staring at case files and signing off on paperwork. He glances up and his head motions to the balcony, but Marshall already knew she’d be out there. So he moves, slowly, still not knowing exactly how she is going to react.

Logic says that Mary will shake her head and murmur something about needing to talk about the kiss later, when they aren’t at work and watched by so many other eyes. But Mary has never been one for logic. At least, not at first. Once the emotion settles, she’s so fucking practical it makes him look like an impulsive teenager. But she has to ride the waves that wrack her body and sometimes the wipeout is inevitable.

He’s worried this is one of those times.

Maybe she rode her emotion the night before.

She is his completely understood unknown; his wild, exotic creature that even after seven years of companionship can still turn in an instant and lash out, protecting her territory and her barriers.

Mary turns from her pose at the edge of the wall when he steps onto the balcony. Her eyes are calm, which is good news. When she is angry, there is a tension that reminds him of a cat, ready to pounce and claim its territory by any means necessary. Marshall walks to her side and waits for her to speak. Seeing her again, only a few hours after the kiss that sent him straight for a shower and the safety of his fantasies, he is surprised at how calm he is.

Knowing her is never the problem. Sometimes, it’s knowing himself.

“We’ll talk about it later. After work.”

“Okay.”

“I’m not avoiding. I just don’t want to do it here, okay?”

“Okay.”

“I’m scared, Marshall.”

“Me too.” He waits for her to speak, to justify last night under some excuse. She doesn’t. He reaches over and places his hand over hers and to his surprise, she does not pull back. He wants to ask questions but respects her need to wait. When she pulls her hand away, he just smiles at her. “You still have to sort out your receipts don’t you?”

“Shut up.”

“The white paper is in the cupboard under the fax machine.”

“I know.” Mary rolls her eyes at him and stalks back inside.

Marshall waits and watches her go and realizes that he still has no idea what she is going to say. For once, he is glad that patience is his virtue.

 _~fin~_


End file.
